All posts tagged "adam kinzinger"

Ex-GOP lawmaker goes off as US finds itself in 'worst-case scenario' due to Trump blunders

A former lawmaker and critic of President Donald Trump slammed the president's Iran war decisions following his announcement on Monday to stop a planned military attack amid "serious negotiations" and telling the military to be ready "on a moment's notice."

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) told CNN that Trump's Truth Social post announcement stating alleged negotiations underway and that an attack had been stopped by allies was putting the United States in a bad position.

"This is so damaging," Kinzinger said. "You know, regardless of let's just be, you know, agnostic on whether he should attack again or not for the moment when you make threats and then you're eager to back down from those threats, which he has been every single time. I mean, he's gone from 'we will destroy an entire civilization' to 'we have a deal,' which we never actually had, by the way, claiming the strait's open, claiming it's closed, claiming he was going to pull the trigger on May 19th."

But Trump's decision-making was troubling, and he has not offered a clear strategy for the war, Kinzinger argued.

"One of the greatest things the United States had is our ability to say, we will do something," Kinzinger explained. "The enemy knows that, and then hopefully we won't have to do that. This has just been like threat, back off, threat, back off. And I haven't seen the Iranians move in any way here. And we find ourselves in the worst-case scenario, which is a closed strait, this nebulous future. And gas is now having to price in, and futures are pricing in the uncertainty."

Kinzinger argued that the United States was lacking a strategy to exit the ongoing military conflict.

"That's what's crazy, is we did go in with overwhelming military power. And now in the White House, they are trying to figure out what Iran needs to be satiated to be pleased," Kinzinger said. "And I mean, this is why they should have thought this through."

"If you're going to do something like attack Iran, you have to know what the contingencies are," Kinzinger added. "And honestly, those contingencies, you have to be willing to do them. Otherwise, you probably should not have gone to this fight in the first place. And so, what is the future here look like? You know, I don't know. Are they going to find something that Iran wants? Maybe are they going to actually denuclearize them or whatever? I don't know. Is there going to be an Iranian, you know, toll on every ship that passes?"

Kinzinger warned about what could be next for future generations.

"But I know this much. I know that my kid, who's 4 1/2 years old, is going to probably be in a country that has a worse situation based on what's going on because of this war, than had we done nothing," Kinzinger said. "I think Donald Trump needs to figure out if we resume hostilities with Iran, you need to have a plan in place to reopen that strait and stick to the use of the military until it's done, or quit these threats, because this is just making it worse."

'I'm sorry, what?' Ex-GOP rep gobsmacked by fine print for Trump's gold phone

An ex-GOP congressman couldn't believe what he heard when learning about the Trump family's gold "Made in USA" phone that's starting to sound like it could be a scam.

"Company executives confirmed the phone would actually be manufactured overseas with only the final assembly of about 10 components happening in Miami," Adam Kinzinger, a former GOP lawmaker and outspoken Trump critic, said in a video he posted on X on Tuesday.

Kinzinger was talking about Eric and Donald Trump Jr.'s venture to sell a gold Trump phone, the T1, which was marketed as made and manufactured in the United States with wireless service from Trump Mobile. The two sons collected an estimated $59 million in deposits from an estimated 590,000 buyers — figures that Trump Mobile executives have refused to confirm. As of this month, not a single confirmed customer has received the device.

"Trump Mobile quietly updated the fine print on its pre-order page to say the $100 deposit doesn't guarantee that a device will be produced or made available for purchase," Kinzinger said. "I'm sorry, what?"

On top of that, "industry analysts have since identified the likely manufacturer as Wingtech," a Chinese company, Kinzinger said. Analysts at Creative Strategies identified the T1 as likely a reskinned version of the Wingtech Revvl 7 Pro 5G, a device already sold by T-Mobile in the United States, at roughly a third of the Trump phone's $499 price tag.

Kinzinger pointed out that the "made in USA language quietly disappeared from the website" that promotes the phone, and was replaced "with vague phrases like 'designed with American values.'"

Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren, have called on the FTC to investigate the venture for alleged "bait-and-switch tactics" and false advertising over the "Made in USA" claim. The FTC has not confirmed whether an investigation has been opened. Trump Mobile says deposits are refundable on request, though the updated terms also give the company the right to cancel the device entirely and refund only the original deposit amount.

While some government agencies have been slow to investigate, Kinzinger said to "watch the customer base because the people who paid for a gold Trump phone are among the most loyal supporters this president has, and he's just openly and shamelessly ripping them off."

Trump's 'trap' for MAGA has a 'humiliation' cost — and it's adding up: ex-GOP lawmaker

A former Republican Party House of Representatives member sounded a warning for Trump's MAGA movement heading into the 2026 midterms.

Adam Kinzinger, who represented Illinois in the House from 2011 to 2023, claimed that Donald Trump's pattern for keeping his most dedicated followers in check will face its biggest test to date later this year. Writing in his Substack, the outspoken Trump critic suggested that the swing Trump's team may see in voting intention is enough to undo years of MAGA progress.

He wrote, "I don’t think MAGA is breaking. I don’t think there’s some dramatic rupture coming where the movement looks in the mirror and decides enough is enough. That’s not how this works and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something. What I think is happening is more subtle and ultimately more significant.

"Trump has spent a decade training his movement to accept humiliation as proof of loyalty. The more outrageous the thing he asks them to believe, the more committed they become — because disbelief now would mean admitting everything they’ve already accepted was wrong.

"It’s a trap that gets harder to escape the longer you’re in it. But the trap has a cost. And the cost is accumulating.

"But the people at the edges — the ones who voted for him without becoming true believers, the ones who wanted cheaper gas and no foreign wars, the ones who are watching their grocery bills and their energy costs and wondering what they actually got — those people don’t owe Trump their humiliation. And that’s where November 2026 gets decided."

Kinzinger served on the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot and has expressed deep concerns about Trump's authoritarianism and threat to democracy. He has criticized Trump's chaotic governance, stating that Trump prioritizes personal loyalty over competence and constitutional principles.

Kinzinger has called for accountability and warned that Trump represents an existential threat to American democracy. He has also mocked Trump's erratic behavior on social media, using satirical posts to highlight what he views as Trump's unfitness for office and dangerous disregard for democratic norms.

Trump's arch mocked by onlookers who believe next president will 'tear it down'

President Donald Trump's plan for a controversial 250-foot-tall gold-covered arch to be built at Memorial Circle in Washington, D.C. has been ridiculed by critics.

The renderings, produced by architecture firm Harrison Design, depict a massive structure flanked by four gold lions and topped by a 60-foot-tall gold statue of an angel, with "one nation under God" inscribed at the top. The project has generated intense opposition from preservationists, lawmakers, and activists.

Professor of Political Science and Senior Fellow of the Freeman Spogli Institute and Hoover Institution at Stanford University, Michael McFaul, criticized the project as a badly timed piece from Trump.

He wrote, "The last thing Americans need right now is a giant arch. Instead of getting his billionaire friends to pay for this, how about asking them to pay for childcare? Or elder care?"

Congressman Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) added, "Inflation is skyrocketing. Gas prices have soared. Fertilizer costs are rising. What is Trump focused on? Using taxpayers' funds to build the biggest arch in the world to honor him."

Former Republican Party representative Adam Kinzinger claimed that the next president would tear down the arch. Posting a GIF of Godzilla punching a building, Kinzinger wrote, "Don't worry. Day one of the new president:"

Larry Sabato, the director of Center For Politics and author of The Kennedy Half Century, added, "Just think how much fun we’ll have tearing it down in a few years."

Other leading critics were concerned as to how members of the public would visit the arch, given where it is set to be built. Former White House doctor Jonathan Reiner aired his criticism of the logic behind planning the arch.

He wrote, "The site for the arch is a busy highway traffic circle between Memorial Bridge and Arlington National Cemetery. How do they envision people would visit the structure?"

Despite overwhelming public opposition, the Commission of Fine Arts remains poised to approve the project, raising concerns about the administration's willingness to override democratic input for Trump's architectural ambitions.

Hegseth grilled by onlookers for 'embarrassing' moment he mistook Pulp Fiction for Bible

Department of Defense head Pete Hegseth has been ridiculed for delivering a Pentagon prayer service that featured a fictionalized Bible passage.

A clip of Hegseth speaking to the Pentagon staff has since been circulated on X, with Hegseth heard reciting the verse delivered by Samuel L. Jackson in the film. Hegseth introduced the prayer as CSAR 2517, which stands for Combat Search and Rescue, according to Public Witness. CSAR 2517 is in fact Ezekiel 25:17, a passage delivered by Jackson's character, Jules Winnfield, in Pulp Fiction.

Former Republican Party representative and outspoken critic of Donald Trump, Adam Kinzinger, shared his thoughts on the Hegseth speech. "Oh. My. Lord.", he posted.

Independent journalist Robert Kearney also wrote, "This nut has full rein over the most powerful military in the world, yet God forbid if the Pope dare tell America to seek peace instead of war."

Political analyst Joel Jenkins added, "The WW3 prayer recited verbatim from the Bible, via Tarantino 25:17, by the Secretary of War. Anyone scared for the immediate future of humanity?"

Political commentator Ed Krassenstein wrote, "Wow this is embarrassing! Pete Hegseth quoted a fake Bible verse from Pulp Fiction at a Pentagon speech and prayer session yesterday. The prayer was an adaptation of the monologue delivered by Samuel L. Jackson’s character. In the movie, the character falsely attributes it to Ezekiel 25:17 before a killing."

In the clip Hegseth delivers a prayer to the attendees. He says, "The path of the downed aviator is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of camaraderie and duty, shepherd the lost through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children.

"And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother. And you will know my call sign is Sandy 1 when I lay my vengeance upon thee, and amen."

It bears a similar reading to the lines delivered by Jackson in Pulp Fiction. His character says, "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children.

"And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee!"

MAGA furious as it discovers likely replacement for Markwayne Mullin funded Trump nemesis

MAGA loyalists were unhappy Monday after discovering the replacement for Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), oil and gas executive Alan Armstrong, had made a political contribution to one of President Donald Trump's adversaries.

Armstrong was slated to visit Trump at Mar-a-Lago with Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt to talk about the plans to appoint him to potentially serve the rest of Mullin's remaining term in the Senate as Mullin takes over to lead the Department of Homeland Security, The Daily Beast reported.

Although the details of the discussions were not immediately released, the conversation was expected to touch on Armstrong's $5,800 donation to former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL). Kinzinger had voted to impeach Trump and the donation came around that time, according to NOTUS.

Stitt has also reportedly floated the idea of two other people replacing Mullin, including Stitt's own senior advisor Dustin Hilliary and oil and gas magnate Harold Hamm.

Some of Trump's MAGA allies were furious over the move to potentially bring Armstrong to Capitol Hill.

Right-wing activist Laura Loomer was enraged over the development.

“Has anyone told President Trump that the Governor of Oklahoma is bringing a Never Trumper who donated to a rabid anti-Trump Congressman who voted to impeach him after J6 to meet with him?” Loomer wrote on X. “Hey @SenMullin what do you think about your Never Trump replacement? Now would be a good time for you to speak up!”

Roger Stone, longtime political consultant and staunch ally of President Donald Trump, had a similar reaction.

“Alan Armstrong the Oklahoma Oil Man RINO Governor Stitt wants to appoint to the vacancy in the US Senate gave thousands of dollars to Trump enemy Little Adam Kinzinger AFTER the Jan 6 Fedsurrection,” Stone wrote on X.

Stone also added that Stitt should select Hamm to replace Mullin.

"RINO Oklahoma Gov Stitt should appoint Harold Hamm instead of Adam Kinzinger Megadonor Alan Armstrong to Oklahoma's vacancy in the US Senate," Stone wrote on X.

Co-founder of Students for Trump, Ryan Fournier, had a similar sentiment.

"Gov. Stitt is pushing for Alan Armstrong to replace Mullin in the Senate. Armstrong donated thousands to Never-Trumper Adam Kinzinger after he voted to impeach Trump," Fournier wrote on X.

Ex-GOP rep claims Trump admin are 'hoping we forget' about Epstein files release

A former Republican Party representative has suggested the staggered release of Jeffrey Epstein's files is intentional as the administration are "hoping we forget" about the release.

In November last year, the Senate agreed in a near-unanimous vote to pass the Epstein files bill, with the legislation signed off by Donald Trump, despite his initial opposition to the documents' release. Though the federal law states the majority of documents must be ready to publish by December 19, less than 1% of the files have been shared with the public.

Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, wrote that there are "more than two million documents potentially responsive to the Act" and that the administration are still working through the backlog.

The Department of Justice confirmed last week that only 12,285 documents of 125,575 pages had been officially released, according to The Guardian. Former GOP rep Adam Kinzinger believes this slow trickle of documents is intentional, and that the administration's sudden surge in country takeover plans is a distraction.

In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Kinzinger said, "It's easy to forget that the Epstein files still need to be released. They've released thousands of documents but they recently admitted to finding five million more documents."

"Now according to the law, these things should already have been put out. But now it's like they're hoping that we forget about it. Keep in mind that when the Republicans were running the Epstein files, and you see this with the online right, there was this demand that they be released but this was synonymous with the assumption or the accusation that this was all Democrats in the files."

"Now the weird thing is, I've never seen anyone on the left or centre say, 'Yeah, release the Epstein files except for the Democrats.' No, I think they've all said, 'Release them all, release everybody.'"

Kinzinger went on to claim the Department of Justice could be "stalling to protect Donald Trump" who has featured in the already released Epstein files.

"But if you still think the Department of Justice is playing the independent role it was intended to and not just acting as Donald Trump's lawyers, I'm sorry, you haven't been paying attention,' Kinzinger said. "We need to continue, even with all the chaos going on, to demand and call for the Epstein files to be released because the American people deserve to know the truth."

Ex-GOP rep calls for party rebellion against Trump until one issue is 'throttled back'

A former GOP representative has called on the party to rebel against the recent economic decisions made by Donald Trump.

Adam Kinzinger urged the party to push back against the decision of one Trump appointed investigator to open an investigation into the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell. The New York Times reported on Sunday that Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., opened an investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell last November.

Powell said in a statement later that day that he had received a subpoena to testify before a grand jury about statements he made last June during a Senate committee hearing. He described the subpoena as "ongoing pressure" from the president to end the Federal Reserve's independence.

In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Kinzinger, a US House Rep for Illinois from 2011 to 2023, urged Republican Party members to stand firm against the subpoena and Trump's influence.

He said, "This was only done for one reason, and one reason only. Donald Trump has been wanting Jerome Powell to cut interest rates and Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve board's job and charter is not to do what Donald Trump wants, it's to do what they need to do to stabilize the money, to ensure as much employment as they can."

"When you cut interest rates, more money goes out into the economy and if you have an inflation problem, inflation increases, when you have out of control inflation, you have to raise interest rates to reign that money in and combat inflation."

Kinzinger added the Federal Reserve are "doing what they need to do" so inflation does not rapidly increase. Trump has since taken legal action against the economic body, Kinzinger says, because they won't "do what he wants".

The ex-GOP member said, "This is utterly insane. It's utterly unethical. This is the moment that the elected Republicans have to make a decision. The vast majority of them out there have done nothing but bow and acquiesce to Donald Trump every day. Everything he wants, they do it."

"As a member of Congress, your job is not to do what Donald Trump wants. Your job is to do what's right. Your job is to represent your district. If you know anything about the Constitution... it's that Congress has, as a whole, the same power as the president. You're not supposed to roll over and do what he wants."

"So every Republican has a chance right now to save any shred of decency or morality they have. You need to speak out and oppose this, and you need to make it clear that you will oppose every single one of Donald Trump's priorities in the Senate or the House until they throttle back on this."

Ex-GOP rep 'fears what is next' for US following ICE shooting in Minneapolis

A former GOP representative "fears what is next" for the country after a woman was shot dead in South Minneapolis, Minnesota, by an ICE agent.

Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot and killed by an ICE agent during an immigration raid in Minneapolis. The shooting happened at a time when the Trump administration surged more than 2,000 federal immigration officers into the city following reports of welfare fraud committed by the local Somali community.

Former Republican Party member Adam Kinzinger has since questioned what the long-term impact of the shooting will be, and says this could be a turning point in how US citizens view the influx in ICE raids.

In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Kinzinger said, "Law enforcement's job is to protect. To serve. To make life safer, not more dangerous. It's to reduce confrontation, not to implement confrontation, not to escalate confrontation. What we're seeing from this administration, it's enough."

"If this doesn't wake the American people up, and if this doesn't create enough pushback on the administration, I fear what is next. I fear what this escalation chain does. You're going to have ICE agents who see the community as the enemy, and you're going to have the community see law enforcement as the enemy. That is never good. That is not the point of law enforcement."

Following the shooting, President Donald Trump claimed the shooting was in self-defense, and said the officer who shot Good was "lucky to be alive." DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the officer was treated at a hospital and released the same day. She also said Good had "weaponized" her car against the officer.

Minneapolis police chief Brian O'Hara says he asked on-site ICE agents if there were any other injuries at the scene, and he was told there were none but Good.

He said, "I was very specific about asking if anyone else was injured. And at the time I was told that it was only the woman."

Kinzinger added, "They should never have been in a position for this to even occur."

Ex-GOP rep says Russia 'on the verge of collapse' as Trump wades into peace talks

An ex-GOP representative and former US Air Force member has suggested Russia is "on the verge of collapse", three years after invading Ukraine.

Adam Kinzinger believes Ukraine will be able to hold out even longer against Russia, as peace talks involving president Donald Trump continue. The ex-Republican Party representative says the party is not matching up with the facts of the war in Ukraine. Russia's grip on Ukraine has loosened, according to Kinzinger, who says Vladimir Putin's military has lost 10% of the occupied territory they held after first invading.

Kinzinger said, "About a week or two into the war, Russia occupied about 30-some percent of Ukraine. Today, that number is a little over 20%. Think about that. The war kicks off, a couple weeks into it, Russia has 30-some percent of Ukraine, today that number is a little under 20."

"So Russia now occupies a significant amount of Ukraine less than they did when they kicked off the war which means, obviously, Ukraine has been able to shove them back. In that whole process, in that fight, Russia has lost probably close now to 1.1 or 1.2million men. That's casualties, killed, captured, wounded, missing. Russia now occupies less of Ukraine than it did."

Kinzinger went on to criticise the stance of Republican Party officials and the president in the negotiations. The former House representative for Illinois compared the drawn out war and lack of territorial gains Russia had seen to the Iraq War and the US invasion.

He added, "Is there a soul in the world that would say we are winning, or we were going to win? Of course not, the US would have pulled out long ago if that was the case. The world would be screaming that the greatest superpower in the world was getting crushed."

"So why is it that Russia occupies 20% of Ukraine at the cost of 1.2million men, and there's this belief among Trump and Republicans particularly that Russia is inevitably going to win? How?"

"They're getting wasted in Ukraine. It's like the old joke, Russia used to be the second biggest army in the world, now they're the second best army in Ukraine." Kinzinger went on to say that those calling Ukraine's loss "inevitable" were wrong.

He added, "Ukraine is winning this war. All a defending country has to do to win a war, is keep defending. That's it. The Russian economy has turned into a war economy. The Russian economy is on the verge of collapse, the Russian demographics are awful. The price of energy is down and Russia exists solely on her energy."